NAVIGATING HAZARDS: A GUIDE TO TRAFFIC CONTROL SAFETY PROCEDURES

Whether you’re organising a large event or you’re in charge of a construction site, the chances are that you and your organisation will be generating a lot of extra traffic.

The more traffic—road or human—that is around, the higher the chance of an accident occurring.  As a person conducting business or undertaking (PCBU), it is your responsibility to use the correct traffic control methods to ensure everyone remains safe.

Below, we discuss the best ways to ensure you comply with all traffic control safety in Waikato.

DEFINITION OF A ROAD TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN

A road traffic management plan ensures that all traffic is planned for and controlled within a certain jurisdiction around a site. This includes moving traffic, parked vehicles, construction plant machinery, pedestrian traffic, cyclists, and anything else that might be moving around the site at any given time.

With so much going on in one area, a clear grasp of traffic control is essential to make sure everyone can move around safely without causing a hazard or an accident, and without congestion building up.

WHAT DOES TRAFFIC CONTROL ENTAIL

Traffic control safety in Waikato normally entails some or all of the following procedures:

• Identifying what kind of traffic will be present at and around the site.
• Identifying the routes this traffic will take and ensuring those routes won’t become congested or dangerous.
• Identifying the speed of traffic and whether that speed needs to be managed.
• Providing correct PPE and equipment to relevant personnel.
• Creating new routes to filter traffic if required.
• Closing certain lanes or creating contraflow systems where required, in order to guide traffic away from dangers or hazards.
• Guiding certain traffic away from danger areas – for instance, guiding large vehicles away from low bridges, etc.
• Guiding human traffic away from conflict with vehicles.
• Preventing people from coming into danger from bottlenecks, crushes, or similar situations.

This list is far from exhaustive and it is wise to get a professional to assess the situation if you are in any doubt.

WHAT CAN CONTROL METHODS ACHIEVE?  

Traffic control safety in Waikato is paramount to the safety of your project or event and can make the difference between accidents happening or not. If an accident does occur and you haven’t followed all legal obligations to ensure that traffic was controlled correctly, you will likely be held liable.

Furthermore, using the correct traffic control safety in Waikato can ensure the success of your project. If you’re operating a building site, congestion and bad traffic management may make your project run behind schedule or over budget. If you’re an organising event, few people are likely to come again next time if they have spent a miserable time getting squashed in corridors or stuck in traffic.

Using the correct traffic management and control methods will also help to ensure you comply with relevant legislation and legal requirements. Failure to do this may result in you facing legal action, costly damages, fines, or imprisonment.

If you want help with traffic control safety in Waikato, please get in touch. We can make sure all the traffic you generate is managed safely.